井 → 遯
Hexagram 48: The Well → Hexagram 33: Retreat
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 2, 4, 6).
Line 2
九二 井谷射鮒。甕敝漏。
Nine in the second place means: At the wellhole one shoots fishes. The jug is broken and leaks.
Line 4
六四 井甃无咎。
Six in the fourth place means: The well is being lined. No blame.
Line 6
上六 井收勿幕。有孚元吉。
Six at the top means: One draws from the well Without hindrance. It is dependable. Supreme good fortune.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
踟躕南北，誤入喪國。杜季利兵，傷我心腹。
Hesitating between south and north, he stumbles into a doomed kingdom. Du Ji wields his blade; it wounds my heart and belly.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Water drawn up through wood, the well stands fixed — but its keeper hesitates between north and south, and blunders into a lost kingdom. Du Ji deploys his soldiers and wounds our very heart. The name 'Du Ji' may refer to a military figure whose sharp blade struck at the core of a state caught between competing directions. Hesitation at the crossroads, unable to commit to either path, leaves one exposed to the opportunist who acts decisively. From The Well to Retreat, heaven rises above the mountain, withdrawing from engagement. The well's failure to hold its ground meets Dun's counsel: when the moment for withdrawal has passed, what should have been strategic retreat becomes disastrous indecision.
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